The Wild Lands
The Wild Lands are the environments of southern Equasia, where communities of horses have lived for hundreds of years. There are six main Wild Lands and several sub-Wild Lands on either side of the River Equus. Main Wild Lands The Thunderlands The Thunderlands are often pounded by storms that pass over the rocky Windthunder Mountains, and the horses that live there have adapted to the harsh environment. Many have storm-based magical abilities. When it's not storming, the Thunderlands are rather peaceful, and beautifully decorated with precious metals. The Windlands Pegasi live on the peaks of the Winthunder Mountains and fly far above the storm clouds. Windlands pegasi are white with silver manes, tales, and covert feathers. Pegasi are aloof, dreamy types who love poetry and soaring quietly through the clouds. It is difficult to visit the Windlands if you cannot fly, but there is a spell you can use, and if you're lucky, a pegasus might let you ride them. The Shadowlands East of the River Equus is a dark coniferous forest called the Shadowlands. It is usually dark in the Shadowlands, and the horses and forest unicorns that live there know how to stay well hidden. Many horses there are interested in astrology, particularly in the region known as "Stargazers Wood." The Firelands The Firelands are an eternal, stationary wildfire of leaping flames and erupting volcanoes. Surprisingly, it is home to many different kinds of heat-resistant horses and unicorns. The Firelands is the only remaining place in Equasia where wild phoenixes can be found, in the hidden Sunrise Sands desert. The Lightlands The warm tropical forest known as the Lightlands is almost entirely inhabited by unicorns. Some think the sheer amount of unicorn magic in this area keeps it protected. A river called the Lumaflume flows into the Equus from the Fons Lucis, or Spring of Light, a warm spring where it is said the first Phaelian pegasus touched the ground. The Lightlands contains the "city" of Lumengard and the legendary Garden of Enlightenment. The Aqualands The River Equus flows into a great ocean called the Aqualands, the only place in Equasia where anyone can find hippocampi. Hippocampi live in a magnificent coral "city" called Hydrippus, and rarely if ever leave the ocean. There are some freshwater horses (called hippopotomi, "river horses," which in this sense is meant literally) that live in the river. Sometimes hippopotomi can be seen sunning themselves at Alicorn Point. Sub-Wild Lands Silvertail The most populated sub-Wild Land, Silvertail is a small but very beautiful forest between the Windthunder Mountains and the river. Many pegasi and some unicorns live there, and it is sort of seen as an "extension" of the Windlands. Legend has it that Silvertail was concealed by an illusion until a pegasus named Hope found it. Silvertail is home to the famous poet Skye. Hippotigris Planes A small grassland between the Firelands and Aqualands is the only place in Equasia where zebras can be found. Quaggas can also be found there-- rather than going extinct, they fled back to Equasia. Wildwoods A smaller deciduous forest between the Shadowlands and the Lightlands, where some solitary herds of unicorns and other forest creatures live. Mapiya Mountains The southern part of the mountain range, which is home to other winged creatures such as griffins and dragons that wish to avoid horses. Barranlands A desert to the west of the Windthunder Mountains, separating the Wild Lands from the Canyonlands or "Darklands" where the Tenebrae live. It is dangerous to go out in this desert because there is little vegetation or water, and horses are vulnerable to Rocs and Tenebrae attacks. Marshlands A swampy region that borders the River Equus, home to kelpies and other, similar creatures. North Mountains North of the EWI and thus isolated from the rest of the Wild Lands is a very cold, snowy mountain range where cold-resistant unicorns live. They have quite a stable society there. Sometimes called the "Icelands" by other horses.